Subterranean well production saltwater evaporation station

ABSTRACT

A process comprising receiving production saltwater comprising water, salt, and hydrocarbons, separating substantially all of the hydrocarbons from the production saltwater, evaporating at least some of the water in the production saltwater to obtain the salt, and collecting the salt. Also disclosed is a facility comprising a settling pit, an evaporator in fluid communication with the settling pit and comprising a nozzle configured to emit a stream along a path, and a collection pit positioned under the path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

Water occurs naturally in subterranean formations, and as such may beproduced in conjunction with hydrocarbons from oil and gas wells. Wateralso may be used to stimulate hydrocarbon production in oil and gaswells. When the water is produced from oil or gas wells, it typicallycomprises sufficient amounts of dissolved salts to make it unsuitablefor agriculture and other purposes. The produced saltwater may alsocomprise several harmful compounds, such as benzene, toluene,ethylbenzene, xylene, transition metals, or combinations thereof. Assuch, oil and gas well operators generally have to pay to dispose of anyproduced saltwater.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the disclosure includes a process comprisingreceiving production saltwater comprising water, salt, and hydrocarbons,separating substantially all of the hydrocarbons from the productionsaltwater, evaporating at least some of the water in the productionsaltwater to obtain the salt, and collecting the salt.

In another embodiment, the disclosure includes a facility comprising asettling pit, an evaporator in fluid communication with the settling pitand comprising a nozzle configured to emit a stream along a path, and acollection pit positioned under the path.

These and other features will be more clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following brief description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like referencenumerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a subterranean wellproduction field.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a production saltwaterseparation process.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of the salt production station.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of embodiments of the reception area, the storagearea, and the separation area.

FIG. 5 is a section view of an embodiment of the separation area takenacross line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a section view of an embodiment of the separation area takenacross line 6-6 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a section view of an embodiment of the separation area takenacross line 7-7 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a section view of an embodiment of the separation area takenacross line 8-8 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a section view of an embodiment of the separation area takenacross line 9-9 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of embodiments of the evaporation area and thestorage area.

FIG. 11 is a section view of an embodiment of the evaporation area takenacross line 11-11 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a section view of an embodiment of the evaporation area takenacross line 12-12 in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood at the outset that although an illustrativeimplementation of one or more embodiments are provided below, thedisclosed systems and/or methods may be implemented using any number oftechniques, whether currently known or in existence. The disclosureshould in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations,drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplarydesigns and implementations illustrated and described herein, but may bemodified within the scope of the appended claims along with their fullscope of equivalents.

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for recovering salt fromsaltwater produced from subterranean wells, such as oil and gas wells.The production saltwater may be received in a reception area andsubsequently stored in a storage area. The production saltwater mayundergo an initial separation in the storage area to remove some of thehydrocarbons from the saltwater. The saltwater may then be passed to aseparation area comprising one or more settling pits. In the settlingpits, solids may settle out of the saltwater and any residualhydrocarbons may be removed from the saltwater. The saltwater may thenbe sent to an evaporation area where the saltwater is sprayed into theair. While in the air, substantially all of the water in the saltwatermay evaporate and the salt may fall into a collection pit. The salt maybe periodically moved from the collection pit to a storage area, wherethe salt may be kept until it is loaded into a storage container orvehicle.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a subterranean well field 100. Thesubterranean well field 100 may comprise a plurality of wells 102coupled to a salt production station 110 via a plurality of pipelines104. The wells 102 may be hydrocarbon, e.g. oil and/or natural gas,wells that produce production saltwater as a byproduct. For example,each well 102 may produce at least about 1 barrel per day, from about 5to about 50 barrels per day, or about 25 barrels per day of productionsaltwater. The production saltwater may comprise water and one or moresalts, perhaps in combination with other compounds. The saltwaterpresent in the effluent from the wells 102 may be the result ofsubterranean water deposits that are in fluid communication with thesubterranean hydrocarbon deposits. Alternatively, the saltwater presentin the effluent from the wells 102 may be the result of water and/orsteam injection into the subterranean formation, for example to increasehydrocarbon production from the well 102. The wells 102 may comprise aseparation system that separates the well effluent into ahydrocarbon-rich stream and a production saltwater-rich stream, whichmay be sent to the salt production station 110. In other embodiments,the wells 102 may be water wells or any other apparatus that producessaltwater.

The wells 102 may transport the production saltwater to the saltproduction station 110 via the pipelines 104. The pipelines 104 aresimilar to those well-known in the art and may comprise metal orcomposite piping having a diameter appropriate for the productionsaltwater flow. The length of the pipeline 104 may vary depending on thedistance between the wells 102 and the salt production station 110. Forexample, the pipelines 104 may be as short as a few yards or as long asseveral hundred miles. Typically, the pipelines 104 may have a lengthless than about 100 miles.

The salt production station 110 may be any device or apparatusconfigured to produce salt from production saltwater. For example, thesalt production station 110 may implement a production saltwaterseparation process, such as the production saltwater separation process200 illustrated in FIG. 2. In the production saltwater separationprocess 200, a batch or continuous stream of production saltwater may bereceived in a reception area 120, stored in a production saltwaterstorage area 130, and any hydrocarbons and/or solids may be separatedfrom the saltwater in a separation area 140. The production saltwaterseparation process 200 may also separate the water from the salt in anevaporation area 160 and store the salt in a salt storage area 180. Inan embodiment, the hydrocarbons, solids, and salt may be suitablydisposed or preferably sold, while the water may be evaporated into theatmosphere.

The production saltwater may comprise water and at least one salt. Asused herein, a salt may be any compound that comprises, consistsessentially of, or consists of an ionic bond, such as the bond formedbetween an anion and a cation. The salts may include alkaline metals,alkaline earth metals, halides, transition metals, poor metals,non-metals, oxides, hydroxides, or combinations thereof. The salts withgreater solubility in water may be included in the salt produced by thesalt production station 110, while the salts with less solubility inwater may be removed from the water in the separation area 140 alongwith any non-salt solids.

The saltwater may comprise a substantial amount of salts. For example,the saltwater may comprise at least about 5 grams per liter (g/L), fromabout 10 to about 100 g/L or about 34 g/L dissolved salts. In anembodiment, the saltwater may comprise an alkaline metal, such as atleast about 5,000 parts per million (ppm), from about 10,000 ppm toabout 20,000 ppm, or about 15,000 ppm dissolved sodium. As such, thesaltwater may have a sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of at least about 50,from about 100 to about 400, or about 240. Additionally oralternatively, the saltwater may comprise an alkaline earth metal, suchas at least about 25 ppm, from about 50 ppm to about 150 ppm, or about74 ppm magnesium, at least about 50 ppm, from about 100 to about 300ppm, or about 180 ppm calcium, and/or at least about 5 milligrams perliter (mg/L), from about 10 to about 100 mg/L, and/or about 52 mg/Lbarium. Additionally or alternatively, the saltwater may comprise atleast 5 g/L, from about 10 g/L to about 100 g/L, or about 23 g/L ofchloride. Additionally or alternatively, the saltwater may comprise atransition metal, such as at least about 0.1 micrograms per liter(μg/L), from about 0.5 to about 10 μg/L, or about 2 μg/L cadmium and/orat least about 0.1 μg/L, from about 0.5 to about 10 μg/L, or about 2μg/L chromium. The saltwater may also comprise less than about 20 μg/L,less than about 10 μg/L, or less than about 5 μg/L silver and/or lessthan about 10 μg/L, less than about 5 μg/L, or less than about 0.8 μg/Lmercury. Additionally or alternatively, the saltwater may comprise apoor metal, such as at least about 0.5 μg/L, from about 1 to about 20μg/L, or about 8 μg/L lead. Additionally or alternatively, the saltwatermay comprise a non-metal, such as at least about 10 ppm, from about 25to about 100 ppm, or about 54 ppm sulfate, less than about 10 μg/L, lessthan about 5 μg/L, or less than about 1 μg/L arsenic, and/or less thanabout 100 μg/L, less than about 50 μg/L, or less than about 20 μg/Lselenium.

The production saltwater may also comprise various organic compounds.For example, the saltwater may comprise less than about 20 mg/L, lessthan about 10 mg/L, or less than about 5 mg/L of C₆-C₁₂ hydrocarbons,and less than about 20 mg/L, less than about 10 mg/L, or less than about5 mg/L C₁₂₊ hydrocarbons. The saltwater may also comprise benzene,toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, or combinations thereof. For example, thesaltwater may comprise at least about 0.02 mg/L, from about 0.04 toabout 0.2 mg/L, or about 0.08 mg/L benzene and related compounds, atleast about 0.02 mg/L, from about 0.04 to about 0.2 mg/L, or about 0.06mg/L toluene and related compounds. In addition, at least about 0.001mg/L, from about 0.005 to about 0.1 mg/L, or about 0.01 mg/L xylene andrelated compounds, and at least about 0.001 mg/L, from about 0.002 toabout 0.05 mg/l, or less than about 0.005 mg/L ethylbenzene and relatedcompounds. In a specific embodiment, the saltwater may comprise at leastabout 0.01 μg/L, from about 0.1 μg/L to about 5 μg/L, or about 0.6 μg/Lof naphthalene, at least about 0.01 μg/L, from about 0.1 μg/L to about 5μg/L, or about 0.3 μg/L 1-methylnaphthalene, at least about 0.01 μg/L,from about 0.1 μg/L to about 5 μg/L, or about 0.4 μg/L2-methylnaphthalene, at least about 0.01 μg/L, from about 0.1 μg/L toabout 1 μg/L, or about 0.2 μg/L penanthrene, at least about 0.01 μg/L,from about 0.1 μg/L to about 1 μg/L, or about 0.2 μg/L pyrene, and lessthan about 5 μg/L, less than about 1 μg/L, or less than about 0.2 μg/Leach of acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, dibenzofuran, fluorene,anthracene, fluoranthene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene,benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene,indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, orcombinations thereof.

The hydrocarbons, solids, and salt produced by the production saltwaterseparation process 200 may each comprise substantially pure products.For example, the hydrocarbons produced by the production saltwaterseparation process 200 may comprise at least 80 weight percent, at least95 weight percent, or at least 99 weight percent organic compounds, suchas hydrocarbons. Similarly, the solids produced by the productionsaltwater separation process 200 may comprise at least 80 weightpercent, at least 95 weight percent, or at least 99 weight percentnon-dissolvable solids. Finally, the salt produced by the productionsaltwater separation process 200 may comprise at least 80 weightpercent, at least 95 weight percent, or at least 99 weight percentsalts, such as alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and halides.

The hydrocarbons, solids, and salt produced by the production saltwaterseparation process 200 may also each comprise substantial amounts oftheir respective components from the production saltwater received inthe reception area 120. For example, the hydrocarbons produced by theproduction saltwater separation process 200 may comprise at least 80weight percent, at least 95 weight percent, or at least 99 weightpercent of the organic compounds present in the production saltwater.Similarly, the solids produced by the production saltwater separationprocess 200 may comprise at least 80 weight percent, at least 95 weightpercent, or at least 99 weight percent of the solids present in theproduction saltwater. Finally, the salt produced by the productionsaltwater separation process 200 may comprise at least 80 weightpercent, at least 95 weight percent, or at least 99 weight percent ofthe salts present in the production saltwater.

FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of the salt production station 110. Asshown in FIG. 3, the salt production station 110 comprises the receptionarea 120, the production saltwater storage area 130, the separation area140, the evaporation area 160, and the salt storage area 180. Thereception area 120 may receive the production saltwater from thepipeline 104 or other sources, and may pass the production saltwater tothe production saltwater storage area 130 for storage. The productionsaltwater storage area 130 may store the production saltwater, and maysubsequently pass the production saltwater to the separation area 140where the hydrocarbons and solids are removed from the saltwater. Thehydrocarbons may be returned to the production saltwater storage area130, while the solids may accumulate in and may be periodically removedfrom the separation area 140. The saltwater may then be transferred tothe evaporation area 160 where the water may be separated from the salt,for example by evaporation. The salt may then be moved to the saltstorage area 180 where it is stored for later transportation and/orsale. The salt production station 110 may be surrounded as appropriateby security fencing 106, berms 108, and wind-deflecting fencing 109 toprovide site security, privacy, fluid containment in case of leaks,and/or wind protection. In addition, the salt production station 110 maycomprise piping, valves, pumps, filters, controls, lighting, and safetyequipment as is necessary to carry out the processes described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts a more detailed embodiment of the reception area 120. Thereception area 120 may be configured to intake production saltwater fromthe pipeline 104 or at least one intake connection 121, which may beconfigured to connect to a vehicle such as a truck, train, ship, orcombinations thereof. While the pipeline 104 and the intake connection121 may pipe the production saltwater directly to the productionsaltwater storage area 130, more typically the production saltwater maypass through metering equipment configured to measure the volume andamount of production saltwater received by the reception area 120. Inaddition, the reception area 120 may comprise composition evaluationequipment that can evaluate the composition of the production saltwater,and/or authorization equipment that can determine whether the vehicle isauthorized to transfer the production saltwater to salt productionstation 110. Furthermore, the reception area 120 may be configured totransfer hydrocarbons, saltwater, solids, or combinations thereof fromthe salt production station 110. For example, the reception area 120 maycomprise a hydrocarbon effluent connection 124 that may be configured totransfer the hydrocarbons from the production saltwater storage area 130to one of the aforementioned vehicles. Alternatively or additionally,the reception area 120 may comprise a vacuum discharge connection 125that may be configured to transfer the solids and/or saltwater from theseparation area 140 and/or the production saltwater storage tanks 131 toone of the aforementioned vehicles. Moreover, the reception area 120 maycomprise accounting equipment configured to make or receive paymentassociated with the transfer of production saltwater, hydrocarbons,and/or solids into or out of the salt production station 110. There maybe several components of the reception area 120 that may need to beaccessible by persons who do not necessarily need to access theremainder of the salt production station 110. As such, some componentsof the reception area 120, e.g. connections and authorization equipment,may be on the outside of the security fence 106, while other componentsof the reception area 120, e.g. sampling equipment, metering equipment,pumps, valves, etc., may be on the inside of the security fence 106.

FIG. 4 also depicts a more detailed embodiment of the productionsaltwater storage area 130. The production saltwater storage area 130may comprise a plurality of production saltwater storage tanks 131 thatmay receive production saltwater from the reception area 120 and storethe production saltwater until it is transferred to the separation area140. The production saltwater storage tanks 131 may be configured suchthat either or both production saltwater storage tanks 131 may be usedto store the production saltwater. Such a configuration allows one ofthe production saltwater tanks 131 to be down for maintenance while theother is operating. The production saltwater storage tanks 131 also mayallow the salt production station 110 to operate at a discontinuous orsubstantially continuous rate, e.g. independent of the intake rate ofproduction saltwater at the reception area 120. In other words, theproduction saltwater storage area 130 may allow the salt productionstation 110 to operate only when economically favorable conditionsexist.

When the production saltwater leaves the production saltwater storagetanks 131, it may pass through a gun barrel separator 132. The gunbarrel separator 132 may allow the production saltwater to remainrelatively still, thereby allowing some of the hydrocarbons to form anorganic phase that is predominately hydrocarbons and salts having anaffinity for the organic phase on top of the aqueous phase that ispredominantly water and salts having an affinity for the aqueous phase.The gun barrel separator 132 may also comprise monitoring equipment thatmaintains the organic-aqueous phase boundary at a substantially constantlevel or within a predetermined range, and a siphon or a weir skimmer orpipe to remove the organic phase. The organic phase may be transferredto a hydrocarbon storage tank 133, while the aqueous phase saltwater maybe removed from a point below the organic-aqueous phase boundary andaway from the inlet, and may be transferred to the separation area 140.The hydrocarbon storage tank 133 may also receive hydrocarbons from theseparation area 140 and may store the hydrocarbons until they are readyto be transferred to a vehicle via the hydrocarbon effluent connection124.

The production saltwater storage tanks 131, gun barrel separator 132,and hydrocarbon storage tank 133 may be constructed of materials andsized appropriate for the composition and amount of production saltwaterflowing through the salt production station 110. For example, theproduction saltwater storage tanks 131, gun barrel separator 132, andhydrocarbon storage tank 133 may be made of fiberglass, steel, or anyother suitable material and may have a volume of at least about 100barrels, from about 200 barrels to about 1,000 barrels, or about 500barrels. In addition, the production saltwater storage tanks 131, gunbarrel separator 132, and hydrocarbon storage tank 133 may be surroundedby a berm 135 and a trough 136 that are lined with a liner, such as apolymer liner about 0.06 inches thick, and downwardly graded towards theseparation area 140. As such, any rupture or leakage from the productionsaltwater storage tanks 131, gun barrel separator 132, and/orhydrocarbon storage tank 133 may be routed into the separation area 140.

FIGS. 4-9 depict a more detailed embodiment of the separation area 140.The separation area 140 may comprise a first settling pit 141, a secondsettling pit 143, and a third settling pit 145 (collectively, thesettling pits). The saltwater generally flows from the first settlingpit 141 to the second settling pit 143 to the third settling pit 145,and as it does so solids and hydrocarbons are removed from thesaltwater. Specifically, the first settling pit 141 may receive thesaltwater from the gun barrel separator 132 via a discharge pipe 134.The trough 136 may also be configured to discharge into the firstsettling pit 141. Solids settle to the bottom of the first settling pit141, and if desired, various compounds can be added to first settlingpit 141 to promote the settling and/or precipitation of the solids, e.g.by reacting with the solids, changing the temperature of the saltwater,changing the pH of the saltwater, or combinations thereof. The saltwaterand any hydrocarbons subsequently pass through a first weir skimmer 142positioned between the first settling pit 141 and the second settlingpit 143. The first weir skimmer 142 skims any hydrocarbons off thesaltwater, while the saltwater passes through to the second settling pit143. Piping connected to the first weir skimmer 142 transports anycollected hydrocarbons back to the hydrocarbon storage tank 133.Similarly, solids settle to the bottom of the second settling pit 143,and the saltwater and any remaining hydrocarbons pass through a secondweir skimmer 144 positioned between the second settling pit 143 and thethird settling pit 145. The second weir skimmer 144 skims anyhydrocarbons off the saltwater, while the saltwater passes through tothe third settling pit 145. Piping connected to the second weir skimmer144 transports the hydrocarbons back to the hydrocarbon storage tank133. In a specific embodiment, the first weir skimmer 142 and the secondweir skimmer 144 are both stainless steel DRAGONFLY MICRO OIL SKIMMERS.Like the first settling pit 141 and the second settling pit 143, solidssettle out of the saltwater in the third settling pit 145, and thesaltwater, which is substantially free of solids and hydrocarbons, isremoved from the third settling pit 145 via a discharge pipe 146. Thedischarge pipe 146 may be a flexible pipe configured to remove saltwaterfrom the top of the third settling pit 145, e.g. such that it does notsuck up substantially any solids.

The settling pits may be sized as appropriate for the flow of productionsaltwater through the salt production station 110. For example, each ofthe settling pits may have a volume of at least about 5,000 barrels,from about 10,000 barrels to about 100,000 barrels, or about 25,000barrels. In addition, one or more of the settling pits may be sloped topromote migration of the solids towards a certain direction, and theslope of each settling pit may be the same or different. For example,the settling pits may have a slope of from about 0.1 percent to about 60percent, from about 0.5 percent to about 10 percent, or about 1 percent.The slope direction may be to one side of the settling pits, e.g. up,down, left, or right in FIG. 4, may be towards the center of thesettling pit, may be towards the perimeter of the settling pit, orcombinations thereof. In a specific embodiment, the settling pits have a1 percent slope in the downward direction in FIG. 4, and have a 1percent slope from the left and right sides in FIG. 4 towards the centerof the settling pits. In an embodiment, the settling pits may comprise aprimary liner such as a polymer liner having a thickness of at leastabout 0.01 inches, from about 0.02 inches to about 0.1 inches, or about0.06 inches. In addition, the settling pits may comprise and a leakagedetection system. For example, a secondary liner, such as a polymerliner having a thickness of at least about 0.005 inches, from about 0.01inches to about 0.1 inches, or about 0.02 inches, may be laid under theprimary liner, and a drainage material, e.g. gravel or syntheticmaterial, may be positioned therebetween. In addition, a leakagedetection pipe may extend from the surface into the drainage material sothat an operator may visually inspect the drainage material to determinewhether the primary liner is leaking. Alternatively, an automaticleakage detection system may be positioned within the leakage detectionpipe. The settling pits may also be covered with netting to preventoperators or wildlife from falling into the settling pits.

FIGS. 10-12 depict a more detailed embodiment of the evaporation area160. The evaporation area 160 may comprise a plurality of substantiallyidentical evaporation stations. The evaporation stations may beconfigured such that either or both evaporation station may be used toevaporate the saltwater. Such a configuration allows one of theevaporation stations to be down for maintenance while the other isoperating. Each evaporation station may comprise an evaporator 164 and acollection pit 162. The evaporator 164 may be any device configured toseparate the water from the salt in the saltwater. For example, theevaporator 164 may be a TURBO-MIST evaporator manufactured by SLIMLINEmanufacturing. The evaporator 164 may comprise an upward-directed nozzlethat is configured to spray the saltwater received from the separationarea 140 into the air. The nozzle may be configured to produce at leastone fine stream that allows at least some of the water to evaporatewhile in the air, which leaves the salt to fall into the collection pit162. For example, the evaporator 164 may be configured to spray at leastabout 10 barrels per hour, from about 20 barrels per hour to about 500barrels per hour, or about 50 barrels per hour of saltwater. As such,the salt production station 110 may produce at least 1,000 pounds perday, from about 2 tons per day to about 50 tons per day, or about 10tons per day of salt. In an embodiment, the horizontal and/or verticalorientation of the nozzle may be adjustable and perhaps controlledautomatically to account for wind, temperature, relative humidity, andso forth. The collection pit 162 may be oriented such that theprevailing winds blow across or behind the evaporator 164 effluent. Thecollection pit 162 may be sized to collect substantially all of the saltproduced by the evaporation. For example, the collection pit 162 may befrom about 50 feet to about 200 feet, from about 70 feet to about 125feet, about 90 feet wide, from about 50 feet to about 600 feet, fromabout 150 feet to about 500 feet, about 350 feet long, and from about 1foot to about 20 feet, from about 2 feet to about 10 feet, about 5 feetdeep. The collection pit 162 may also be configured with a drain 163 aswell as pumps and piping appropriate to recover any unevaporated waterand return such to the evaporators 164, separation area 140, and/orproduction saltwater storage area 130.

In addition, one or more of the collection pits 162 may be sloped topromote migration of the salt and/or any residual water towards acertain direction, and the slope of each collection pit 162 may be thesame or different. For example, the collection pit 162 may have a slopeof from about 0.1 percent to about 60 percent, from about 0.5 percent toabout 10 percent, or about 1 percent. The slope direction may be to oneside of the collection pit 162, e.g. up, down, left, or right in FIG.10, may be towards the center of the collection pit 162, may be towardsthe perimeter of the collection pit 162, or combinations thereof. In aspecific embodiment, the collection pit 162 may have a 1 percent slopefrom right to left in FIG. 10, e.g. towards to the evaporator 164, andmay have a 1 percent slope from the top and bottom sides in FIG. 10,e.g. towards the center of the collection pit 162. Furthermore, thecollection pit 162 may comprise a liner similar to the primary orsecondary liner described above. Finally, the evaporation area 160 maybe surrounded by the berm 108 and/or wind-deflecting fence 109, e.g. an8-foot high berm and/or a 15-foot high wind-deflecting fence, to preventthe wind from blowing the water stream and/or salt away from thecollection pit 162. The berm 180 and/or fencing 109 may be installedbetween individual evaporations stations, if desired.

Each evaporation station may comprise a salt conveyor that is configuredto move the salt from the collection pit 162 to the salt storage area180. For example, the evaporation station may comprise a blade 168, amotor 172, and a cable 170. The blade 168 may be a box blade or anyother apparatus configured to scrape the salt across the collection pit162. If desired, the blade 168 may have a horizontal and/or verticalconcavity to promote collection and movement of the salt. The blade 168may be connected to the motor 172 by the cable 170, which may extendfrom the motor 172 through a pulley 184 in the salt storage area 180 andto the blade 168 from one side of the motor 172, and directly to theblade 168 on the other side of the motor 172. As such, when the motor172 is actuated in a forward direction, the blade 168 may be pulledacross the collection pit 162 in a first direction, e.g. towards thepulley 184, and may move the salt from the collection pit 162 to thesalt storage area 180. Similarly, when the motor 172 is actuated in areverse direction, the blade 168 may be pulled across the collection pit162 in a second direction, e.g. towards the motor 172, and may return toits initial location proximate to the evaporators 164. If desired, theblade 168 may also be fitted with a vertical actuation mechanism theraises and lowers the blade 168. The blade 168 may be actuated as neededto prevent excessive build-up of salt in the collection pit 162. Also,the blade 168 may be actuated when the evaporators 164 are not inoperation, e.g. to limit the amount of salt build-up behind the blade168. Additionally or alternatively, the evaporation station may usebackhoes, bulldozers, front-end loaders, or other mobile equipment tomove the salt from the collection pit 162 to the salt storage area 180.

FIGS. 10 and 12 also depict a more detailed embodiment of the saltstorage area 180. The salt storage area 180 may comprise a salt storagepad 182 and the pulley 184. The salt storage pad 182 may be used as astorage and/or additional drying area for the salt until the salt can beloaded into a storage container or vehicle. If desired, a roof or tarpmay be used to cover the salt, e.g. to prevent rain from wetting or windfrom blowing away the salt. Additionally or alternatively, the saltstorage pad 182 may be surrounded by the aforementioned berm 108 and/orfencing 109. The salt may meet or exceed various federal and/or stateregulations for agricultural and livestock use, and as such the salt maybe suitable for agricultural use and/or animal consumption.

The efficiency with which the salt production station 110 produces thesalt may be dependent on the environmental conditions at the saltproduction station. In an embodiment, the salt production station 110may be operated when the ambient temperature is at least about 50° F.,at least about 70° F., or at least about 90° F. In addition, the saltproduction station 110 may be operated when the relative humidity is nomore than about 60 percent, no more than about 30 percent, or no morethan about 10 percent. Such conditions, along with the wind, may causeat least about 40 weight percent, at least about 60 weight percent, orat least about 90 weight percent of the water in the saltwater toevaporate.

At least one embodiment is disclosed and variations, combinations,and/or modifications of the embodiment(s) and/or features of theembodiment(s) made by a person having ordinary skill in the art arewithin the scope of the disclosure. Alternative embodiments that resultfrom combining, integrating, and/or omitting features of theembodiment(s) are also within the scope of the disclosure. Wherenumerical ranges or limitations are expressly stated, such expressranges or limitations should be understood to include iterative rangesor limitations of like magnitude falling within the expressly statedranges or limitations (e.g., from about 1 to about 10 includes, 2, 3, 4,etc.; greater than 0.10 includes 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, etc.). For example,whenever a numerical range with a lower limit, R₁, and an upper limit,R_(u), is disclosed, any number falling within the range is specificallydisclosed. In particular, the following numbers within the range arespecifically disclosed: R=R₁+k*(R_(u)−R₁), wherein k is a variableranging from 1 percent to 100 percent with a 1 percent increment, i.e.,k is 1 percent, 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent, . . . , 50percent, 51 percent, 52 percent, . . . , 95 percent, 96 percent, 97percent, 98 percent, 99 percent, or 100 percent. Moreover, any numericalrange defined by two R numbers as defined in the above is alsospecifically disclosed. Use of the term “optionally” with respect to anyelement of a claim means that the element is required, or alternatively,the element is not required, both alternatives being within the scope ofthe claim. Use of broader terms such as comprises, includes, and havingshould be understood to provide support for narrower terms such asconsisting of, consisting essentially of, and comprised substantiallyof. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited by thedescription set out above but is defined by the claims that follow, thatscope including all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.Each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into thespecification and the claims are embodiment(s) of the presentdisclosure. The discussion of a reference in the disclosure is not anadmission that it is prior art, especially any reference that has apublication date after the priority date of this application. Thedisclosure of all patents, patent applications, and publications citedin the disclosure are hereby incorporated by reference, to the extentthat they provide exemplary, procedural, or other details supplementaryto the disclosure.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods might beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

In addition, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled orcommunicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicatingthrough some interface, device, or intermediate component whetherelectrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes,substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in theart and could be made without departing from the spirit and scopedisclosed herein.

1. A process comprising: receiving production saltwater comprisingwater, salt, and hydrocarbons; separating substantially all of thehydrocarbons from the production saltwater, thereby producing a streamconsisting essentially of the water and the salt and optionally solids;evaporating at least some of the water in the stream to obtain the salt;and collecting the salt.
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein receivingthe production saltwater comprises withdrawing the production saltwaterfrom a production saltwater pipeline coupled to a hydrocarbon well,wherein the hydrocarbon well is directly connected to a subterraneanformation, wherein the hydrocarbon well separates hydrocarbons from theproduction saltwater, and wherein the received production saltwater issubstantially the same as the production saltwater separated by thehydrocarbon well.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein receiving theproduction saltwater comprises receiving the production saltwater from avehicle that received the production saltwater from a hydrocarbon well,wherein the hydrocarbon well is directly connected to a subterraneanformation, wherein the hydrocarbon well separates hydrocarbons from theproduction saltwater, and wherein the received production saltwater issubstantially the same as the production saltwater separated by thehydrocarbon well.
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein evaporating atleast some of the water comprises spraying the stream into the openatmosphere, wherein substantially all of the salt in the sprayed streamfalls onto the ground, and wherein at least about 50 weight percent ofthe water in the sprayed stream evaporates in the open atmosphere. 5.The process of claim 1, wherein evaporating at least some of the watercomprises spraying the stream into the air, wherein substantially all ofthe salt in the sprayed stream falls onto the ground, and whereinsubstantially all of the water in the sprayed stream evaporates into theair.
 6. The process of claim 5, wherein separating substantially all thehydrocarbons from the production saltwater comprises passing theproduction saltwater through a weir skimmer.
 7. The process of claim 6,wherein separating substantially all of the hydrocarbons from theproduction saltwater further comprises passing the production saltwaterthrough a gun barrel separator.
 8. A process comprising: receivingproduction saltwater comprising water, salt, and hydrocarbons:separating substantially all of the hydrocarbons from the productionsaltwater, wherein separating substantially all the hydrocarbons fromthe production saltwater comprises: passing the production saltwaterthrough a gun barrel separator; and passing the production saltwaterthrough a weir skimmer; combining the hydrocarbons from the weir skimmerand the gun barrel separator in a hydrocarbon storage tank; evaporatingat least some of the water in the production saltwater to obtain thesalt; and collecting the salt.
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein theproduction saltwater further comprises solids, and wherein the processfurther comprises separating substantially all the solids from theproduction saltwater in a settling pit exposed to the atmosphere priorto evaporating at least some of the water.
 10. The process of claim 9,wherein the solids comprise a transition metal.
 11. The process of claim1, wherein the received production saltwater consists essentially of thewater, the salt, the hydrocarbons, and optionally solids, and whereincollecting the salt comprises scraping the salt from a collection pitonto a salt storage area.
 12. The process of claim 1, wherein theproduction saltwater has a sodium absorption ratio greater than or equalto about
 100. 13. The process of claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbonscomprises benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, or combinationsthereof.
 14. The process of claim 7 further comprising combining thehydrocarbons from the weir skimmer and the gun barrel separator in ahydrocarbon storage tank.
 15. A production saltwater disposal processoccurring in a production saltwater disposal facility, the processcomprising: receiving, at the production saltwater disposal facility,production saltwater produced by a hydrocarbon well directly connectedto a subterranean formation, wherein the production saltwater receivedby the production saltwater facility is substantially the same as theproduction saltwater produced by the hydrocarbon well, and wherein theproduction saltwater comprises water, salt, and hydrocarbons; separatingsubstantially all of the hydrocarbons from the production saltwater,thereby producing a stream consisting essentially of the water and thesalt and optionally solids; and evaporating at least some of the waterin the stream to obtain the salt.
 16. The process of claim 15, whereinthe production saltwater comprises solids, and wherein the processfurther comprises settling the solids out of the production saltwaterusing a settling pit exposed to the atmosphere.
 17. The process of claim16, wherein separating substantially all the hydrocarbons from theproduction saltwater comprises: passing the production saltwater througha first separator to produce a first group of hydrocarbon compoundsconsisting of hydrogen and carbon; passing the production saltwaterthrough a second separator to produce a second group of hydrocarboncompounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon; and placing the first groupof hydrocarbon compounds and the second group of hydrocarbon compoundsin a hydrocarbon storage tank.
 18. The process of claim 17, whereinreceiving the production saltwater comprises receiving the productionsaltwater from a vehicle, and wherein the process further comprisesgathering the salt from the ground and storing the salt in a saltstorage area.
 19. The process of claim 18, wherein evaporating at leastsome of the water comprises spraying the stream into the openatmosphere, wherein substantially all of the salt in the sprayed streamfalls onto the ground, and wherein at least about 50 weight percent ofthe water in the stream evaporates in the open atmosphere.
 20. Theprocess of claim 16, wherein separating substantially all thehydrocarbons from the production saltwater comprises: passing theproduction saltwater through a first separator to produce a first groupof hydrocarbon compounds comprising hydrogen and carbon; passing theproduction saltwater through a second separator to produce a secondgroup of hydrocarbon compounds comprising hydrogen and carbon; andplacing the first group of hydrocarbon compounds and the second group ofhydrocarbon compounds in a hydrocarbon storage tank.